The field of the present invention is that of an orthogonal active-passive array pair matrix display that is comprised of two critical working components, namely separate active and passive arrays that are one-dimensional array displays. The outputs from the parallel active display lines are observed through the orthogonal lines of the passive display. The outputs of the active lines and the transmissions of the passive lines are individually controlled by associated electronics. Many active-passive array display pairs may be produced from known phenemena. Many scan or address schemes are possible.